X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

A Beginner's Guide to Endings

In Niagara Falls, Ontario, proverbial loser Edward "Duke" White, father to now four adult and one adolescent sons with three different women, and not much of a father by anyone's estimation, has just killed himself, and although his body is not found, the evidence indicates that he killed himself by going over the falls. Only Duke's only wife, now ex-wife Goldie White, has and had been any sort of mother to all five, despite only being the biological mother to the first three: not too bright Eddie Jr., who had always wanted to be a boxer - he having turned pro for a while, which is where he got his nickname "Nuts" - despite never having shown a real aptitude for the sport; Cal, the slick Lothario who likes the finer things in life, except his women, his type being those that would proudly display their tramp stamp; and Jacob, the smart, responsible straight arrow. From the will read by the executor, the boys' paternal uncle, Father Pal, the boys learn that besides the specifically chosen memento each of the three oldest receives appropriate to his life, Duke killed himself for the sake of those three partly in an act of atonement. In addition to committing fraud against the three, the large sum of money they didn't even know they had, he did something ten years ago that will result now in their imminent deaths. After Cob confirms the accuracy of what Duke wrote, each of the three goes on an end of life journey, Nuts and Cal's specific to their respective lives in boxing and with women. While Cob does go the route of carrying out his bucket list, some of the more dangerous items on which may indeed kill him, Nuts and Cal may also find their remaining path will take them possibly closer to death, an unintended consequence.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Scott Caan
Cal White
Paulo Costanzo
Jacob 'Cob' White
Jason Jones
Edward 'Nuts' White Jr.

Featured Video

A Beginner's Guide To Endings
A Beginner's Guide To Endings
2:02

2:02 A Beginner's Guide To Endings

Awards

  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Feature Film - winner
  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Cinematographer - winner
  • 2011 - Jury Award - Best Screenplay - winner
  • 2011 - DGC Team Award - Feature Film - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Tokyo Story
Journey to Italy
Sweet Smell of Success
The Leopard

Popular Movies See all movies

The Devil Wears Prada 2

1 hr 59 mins
Almost twenty years after making their iconic turns as Miranda, Andy, Emily and Nigel—Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci return to the fashionable streets of New York City and the sleek offices of Runway Magazine in the eagerly awaited sequel to the 2006 phenomenon that defined a generation.
63   Metascore
2026 Comedy, Drama

Jumanji: The Next Level

2 hr 3 mins
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
58   Metascore
2019 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Project Hail Mary

2 hr 36 mins
Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
77   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction

Balls Up

1 hr 44 mins
In this raunchy, over-the-top comedy, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) go “balls out” and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
34   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Suspense, Sports

The Devil Wears Prada

1 hr 49 mins
After graduating from college, Andy lands the dream job that "a million girls would kill for": assistant to Miranda - the chief editor of Runway, the top-selling fashion magazine in the industry. It is a job set to fast track her career in journalism if she can survive a year working for Miranda. From here, Andy, with no sense of fashion at all, begins a fish-out-of-water drama as she is thrown into a lifestyle full of the fast-paced, three-inch-minimum heel height, diet Coke and coffee substance abuse. Andy works really hard to deal with Miranda's endless unimaginable demands. She even becomes trendy and classy. However, she gradually finds she is working 24/7, and soon her life with boyfriend, Nate, and best friend, Lily, is slipping away from her. Then, she realizes that she is losing what really matters. She does not want to lose herself no matter how many pairs of Monolos and Jimmy Choos she can score along the way.
62   Metascore
2006 Comedy, Drama

14 and Under

1 hr 27 mins
A series of "sex reports" intended to address the issue of pedophilia in the early 1970s.
1973 Comedy